Providence College Athletics understands the value of aqua therapy so they installed SwimEx pools and plunge tanks in two separate athletic facilities on campus. All men’s and women’s varsity athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division I level, and 15 of 19 teams play in the highly competitive Big East Conference, including men’s and women’s basketball.

“We liked the SwimEx over other brands for several reasons. For us, SwimEx is a local company so we wanted to support the local economy. Plus, the thinking was if there were any issues down the road we would have good technical support nearby. Secondly, we liked the SwimEx for its strong current for rehab. We looked at Hydroworx, but we liked the current better than the jets from a resistance point of view,” John Rock, ATC, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine.

“We’re really using the SwimEx based on rehab protocols,” said Rock. “Right now we have four athletes recovering from ACL reconstructive surgery. We also have two athletes recovering from shoulder surgery and other athletes with a variety of injuries using the SwimEx. With all the sports we have, there are a multitude of uses for it and its versatility in general is very positive so far.”

Injured Athletes

Some form of rest is often the treatment recommendation for an injured athlete. The rest may be relative rest, in which the athlete reduces the intensity of training or activity, or it may be absolute rest, during which the athlete performs no activity. In either case, rest for an athlete can be problematic. The research of Coyle et al. (1986 and 1984) showed that a significant decline in cardiovascular fitness can result from as little as 3 wk of inactivity. A 14 to 16% decline in maximal oxygen consumption has been documented after 6 wk of rest (Coyle et al., 1986 and 1984). Given that 3 to 6 wk is not an inordinately long period and certainly within the realm of the time needed for recovery from a musculoskeletal injury, the loss of cardiovascular fitness needs to be considered. An athlete may rehabilitate an acute injury only to find that he or she returns to the sport with a significant loss of conditioning. Fortunately, the aquatic environment can help to mitigate some, if not all, of the potential fitness loss.

]]>http://www.swimex.com/news/currentnews/aquatic-training-programs-benefit-injured-athletes/feed/0SwimEx Pool at Mercy Clinic East in Janesville, WIhttp://www.swimex.com/news/hospitals-and-therapists/swimex-and-mercy-clinic-east-in-janesville-wi/
http://www.swimex.com/news/hospitals-and-therapists/swimex-and-mercy-clinic-east-in-janesville-wi/#commentsThu, 05 Sep 2013 21:33:24 +0000http://www.swimex.com/news/?p=1114Read the Rest…]]]>Mercy Clinic East in Janesville, WI has a SwimEx 500T that gets a lot of use by Mercy physical therapists and their patients. Physical Therapy Supervisor Pam Schubring says she and her fellow PTs use the 500T to help athletes and other orthopedic patients recover from injuries, but they’ve also been pleasantly surprised at how much the SwimEx pool helps patients recovering from strokes.

“It really helps with their balance rehabilitation,” Pam says. “We have them walk the length of the pool, and we work on their gait pattern. Then we use the current to challenge them a bit. Being in the water helps them get over their fear of falling.”

The brand new Mercy Clinic East facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art SwimEx therapy pool. This is a video demonstration of the different features and uses of the pool.

]]>http://www.swimex.com/news/hospitals-and-therapists/swimex-and-mercy-clinic-east-in-janesville-wi/feed/0Benefits of an Aquatic Lap Poolhttp://www.swimex.com/news/home-swim-spas-and-pools/benefits-of-an-aquatic-lap-pool/
http://www.swimex.com/news/home-swim-spas-and-pools/benefits-of-an-aquatic-lap-pool/#commentsWed, 19 Jun 2013 22:10:53 +0000http://www.swimex.com/news/?p=1175Read the Rest…]]]>Do you loathe the crowds at your community swimming pool but don’t want to give up your workouts? Are you finding that your joints are in more pain that usual, and need some rehab? Do you want to become fitter than ever, and have vowed to make 2013 the year you’ll finally lean down and tone up?

Think of a lap pool as the answer to all of your health dilemmas and time restraints.

If your busy life has made it harder than ever to get to the gym, or if you have failed to convince your family that health should be a priority in their life, an aquatic lap pool of your very own is the answer. It doesn’t matter if swimming laps is already part of your weekly workout plan, or you just want a place to start a relaxation routine – swim laps in the privacy of your home and you may just wonder what took you so long to get here!

Here are some of the many benefits of an aquatic lap pool, and just how you can maximize your health and wellness as a result of owning one of your very own.

You Want to Burn Calories in the Privacy of Your Home

Working out isn’t always easy, but when you have to leave your home, get caught in gridlock traffic and deal with hefty gym membership dues, it can become more effort than it’s worth. An aquatic lap pool in your home however, can make exercise a nearly effortless endeavor.

Just think about it: Wake up, put on your swimsuit and without stepping foot outside of your home, have the endorphin pumping workout you crave. It’s easy to lose weight, shed inches and feel confident in your own skin again – with a lap pool on your private property.

You Want to Ease Discomfort in Your Joints

A knee, back or neck injury can happen at any time in your life, and often when you least expect it. Just thirty minutes of lap swimming a day can burn up to eight times the calories that a sedentary activity, such as watching TV or talking on the phone, will. Feel the burn, one lap at a time, and you’ll have a full body workout – from head to toe –and as a result, you’ll feel like a million bucks.

You Love Swimming, and Always Have

Where’s your happy place? For many, it’s at the beach, or lying in a hot bubble bath. Needless to say, if you’re one of the many people in the world that craves the water, knock out two birds with one stone. Swim laps in a relaxing aquatic lap pool, and get energized while getting fit. It’s the perfect combination if you think about it, and can instantly improve your lifestyle.

The benefits of having your own lap pool are endless. From a way to relax to getting your daily exercise in, what can’t lap pools do for you? If you like swimming in an aquatic lap pool, you’ll love this – the SwimEx lap pools do even more than your average aquatic lap pool does. While you’re exercising your heart out, it also gives you the advantage of easier maintenance, and with fewer expenses than a traditional lap pool to worry about. Affordable and practical, a SwimEx pool will keep your waistline and your budget in check!

See the SwimEx tank at 1:02 in this 60 Minutes piece about the beautiful $3 million locker room built by new Jaguars owner Shad Khan.

SwimEx. Go with the Flow.

]]>http://www.swimex.com/news/currentnews/jacksonville-jaguars-60-minutes-piece-shows-swimex-plunge-tank/feed/0A winning combo: SwimEx and Utah PT centerhttp://www.swimex.com/news/hospitals-and-therapists/a-winning-combo-swimex-and-utah-pt-center/
http://www.swimex.com/news/hospitals-and-therapists/a-winning-combo-swimex-and-utah-pt-center/#commentsThu, 04 Oct 2012 22:23:46 +0000http://www.swimex.com/news/?p=1054Read the Rest…]]]>MountainTop Physical Therapy & Wellness Center in Park City, Utah opened its new 4,000-square-foot facility in early August 2012, but its SwimEx 600T pool with an integrated Woodway treadmill has already seen heavy use.

Case in point: Top-ranked high school volleyball player Kristi Rhead, who broke her ankle while surfing this summer.

“Kristi suffered a severe break which required open reduction internal fixation, which means they had to surgically fixate the break with hardware,” explains MountainTop owner Preston Hall, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS. “She was non-weight bearing for six weeks.”

So Preston set up a rehabilitation regimen for Kristi using the center’s SwimEx 600T. Initially, he had Kristi work on strength and range of motion exercises in a non-weight-bearing fashion utilizing the SwimEx’s powerful paddlewheel current and the deep well. Then, as Kristi’s ability to bear weight improved, Preston moved her onto the treadmill and onto the pool’s work stations for exercises focusing on weight bearing, dynamic movement and explosiveness.

“The SwimEx allowed us to be a lot more progressive in Kristi’s treatment, which meant she could return to the team in time for volleyball season,” Preston says.

The SwimEx at MountainTop is the first 600T model fitted with an integrated treadmill to be sold in the United States. The pool offers trainers a wide assortment of treatment options, with its front-to-back work stations providing water depths of 48 to 60 inches. Preston has used the pool to treat a wide variety of physical conditions, such as pelvic fractures, tibia or fibular fractures, hip and knee replacements, degenerative spine issues and post-op spine issues, ACLs, and rotator-cuff recoveries.

“We’ve had a lot of patients in there in the first few months,” Preston says. “The pool allows the patients to make great progress.”

Kristi found time between school, homework, rehab and volleyball games to send a grateful message regarding her treatment by Preston and the SwimEx 600T.

“SwimEx has played an extremely important role in my early recovery from a broken ankle! Before I could bear weight, I was able to build my muscles and stay in shape through the resistance from the underwater current…with the help of SwimEx and my wonderful physical therapist Preston Hall, I will be back playing volleyball more quickly than I thought to be possible!”

Aquatic immersion has been reported to produce a significant number of physiological changes in blood pressure, heart rate variability (HRV), autonomic nervous system (ANS), and core temperature in young healthy subjects. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of water immersion in younger and older populations, determining whether there are age related differences for ANS regulation measures in cool, neutral, and warm water. Vitals and ANS measures were collected from two samples representing different age-groups in the general population. It was found that water immersion produced a significant number of important physiologic responses such as decreased blood pressure and increased SVB during the warm water cycle. These changes are important components of ANS bioregulation and clearly seem to be influenced by water temperature during immersion. There was a statistically significant relationship between ANS activity manifested by heart rate variability and water temperatures.